Days with the Dorans

Everyone thought I was crazy when I let Ali Jane bring her finger paints out! Joe had fun playing with the blue and Ali Jane with the red. After a while they started mixing the colors to make purple, green and orange. Now that Zachy is mobile the big kids had fun doing something that was out of their little brother's reach. I almost let Zach paint too, because I know I have a little picture of Joey painting pictures for his Grandpa Doran when he was in the hospital- but Joe must have been a little bit older, or he didn't put everything in his mouth. I was (wisely) reminded that our dear Zachy puts everything in his mouth, so he stayed on the sidelines and observed this time. In the video below you can see them experimenting with the different colors. As you can see, Al didn't appreciate Joe mixing her red with his blue, after a while though she was in a happier mood, but of course, I didn't tape that part... This is also my first attempt at a video- Cross your fingers....

Valentine's Day this year was nice because I was off all week for our mid-winter break and it was also a "school" day for the kids. My mom came over and watched Zachy so that Jeff and I could go out to lunch. We're really trying to save money so didn't even get cards for each other but had a great "kid-free" time. We even used old rebate cards from our cell phones so it felt like 'found money'. At lunch we were remembering the last ten Valentines- wow! Does time really fly by! The kids were so excited about Valentine's day and Ali Jane wore a cute pink heart shirt to school with her princess skirt and Joe his new shirt (gifts from Nana). Ali Jane doesn't have the shirt on in these pictures because she spilled her strawberries on it at school. She is still sporting her "pony" though. I tried all summer to put her hair up to no avail- but now that Miss Kellie wears ponies- that is all she wants. The kids had a blast opening up a...

On the 12th the kids were so excited to get a special package in the mail just for them! Grandma had sent it from Saginaw and when Jeff and I picked the kids up from school we told them that we saw a special package marked just for them. Immediately they thought of Grandma! I don't know if they really remember last Valentine's day and the package that she sent, or remember by looking through my new scrapbooks. (Yes- I am the digital scrapbook queen now! Zach's will be the last traditional book I do!) All three kids got their very own bag and they were really so excited about each thing in the box! I wish I could have captured their excitement on video! Ali Jane was so excited about the heart socks that she got that she put them on right away and slept in them all night! My kids truly are blessed to have the grandparents they do! My folks and Jeff's mom have stolen the hearts of these kids, and I know their Grandpa Doran is watching over them as well! We remembe...

Today at church it was funny because I was nursing Zachy in the library and two ladies commented on how "healthy" he was! (HA!) Actually- he is probably eating much healthier than the other two because I am hooked on my newest gadget... the MAGIC BULLET! In the early days after having my kids I would nurse them in the night to a glow of the TV, which was less harsh then the bedroom light, and I found with each child I have gotten sucked into a new gadget! With Zach it was the Magic Bullet. I have been making all of his food with this gizmo so I know the food that he is getting is fresh and good for him! My friends at work have tasted my delicious home-made & healthy salsa (and laughed about me raving about my Magic Bullet!). I hide veggies in home-made pizzas and other dishes so my kids are actually getting twice the veggies they think they are! In this pic- we're making fruit smoothies- our new favorite dessert! I think I've even sold my mom on them! Oh- and the...

I am a sucker for home-made anything, so it was only natural that we would get out the stickers, paint, markers, punches and papers to make Valentines for Nana & Papa, Grandma, the Uncles and Aunties and cousins and friends. Jeff was at a game with my dad, so it was quite the undertaking to get all the gear out! I don't know if they made quite enough cards to give them to everyone they intended to but they sure had a lot of fun making them. I have to admit that the paint didn't last long because it took too long to dry before you could do anything else to it, so we stuck to markers, stickers and punches. Ali Jane is usually the craftier of the two, though this time it was Joe who was all about making more Valentines. He had fun decorating his with stickers mostly. Though he can write his name, he didn't feel like putting them on his Valentines... perhaps we'll work on that part tomorrow! Ali Jane spends a lot of time on one project usually, so she only made about 5...

For a while I was worried that Zach would be an after-thought since Jonasen and Ali Jane are so tight- but they always include him in their play. I snapped this picture because Zach was playing in the chair and before long, he was joined by his two older sibs! I can only hope that they will always get along this well! It will be interesting to see what the future will hold!

When I met Jeff, he already had a niece and a nephew and while we were dating, his brother Jim and sister-in-law Trish had Abby! It is hard to believe that she is nine years old already! We had fun traveling to Saginaw to go to Abby's ninth birthday party. The kids had fun eating pizza, ice-cream and cake out of their "High School Musical" glasses... (I haven't seen it yet, but the third graders I teach rave about it too! Mary and her cousin had fun dressing Zachy up in pink tissue paper and making bows to place upon his big bald head, while Abby opened up all her presents (mostly with the "High School Musical" theme... We'll have fun with those pictures one day no doubt. Ali Jane must have read this book with Uncle Jim quite a bit because she hasn't been able to stop talking about the princesses and witches (many of whom she has never seen in pictures or movies... yet) She continues to tell stories about the witch- throwing the princesses into ...